Self-locking firearm bolt action

ABSTRACT

A rifle with a cartridge chambering mechanism, the rifle having several components including: a rifle barrel with a breach and a muzzle; a receiver, wherein a stock, magazine, grip and trigger are in mechanical communication with a lower portion of the receiver, wherein an upper portion of the receiver is in mechanical communication with the rifle barrel and the upper portion of the receiver comprises a carriage chamber; a bolt which secures a cartridge from the magazine in a breach of the rifle barrel, wherein the bolt is positioned within the carriage chamber; a bolt carriage in mechanical communication with the bolt, wherein the bolt carriage is positioned within the carriage chamber, wherein the bolt carriage translates the bolt between locked-closed and unlocked-open positions relative to the breach, wherein a spent casing is extracted from the breach only by manual operation of the bolt carriage; and a charging action positioned within the stock which biases the bolt toward the locked-closed position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to firearms technology. In particular, the present invention concerns cartridge chambering mechanisms for rifles which enable a rifleman to cycle the chambering mechanism without removing the rifle from the rifleman's firing position.

[0002] In the field of firearm technology, various mechanisms are known for expelling a spent casing and chambering a new cartridge. In the category of rifles, examples of chambering mechanisms include: manual bolt-action and blowback. Manual bolt-action rifles are typically more accurate because no parts or mechanisms operate within the rifle while the rifle is being fired. Manual bolt-action rifles are slower to operate and with many configurations require that the rifleman take his eyes off the target to cycle the chambering mechanism. Thus, bolt-action rifles are generally more preferred in applications where target accuracy is paramount. Blowback chambering mechanisms typically compromise accuracy because the chambering mechanism operates as the bullet exits from the muzzle of the barrel. The inertial forces of the blowback chambering mechanism tend to pull the rifle slightly off target. Blowback chambering mechanisms may be either semi-automatic or fully automatic. Blowback rifles are much faster to operate and typically do not require the rifleman to take his eyes off the target to cycle the chambering mechanism.

[0003] U.S. Pat. No. 6,279,258 B1, incorporated herein by reference, discloses a rifle with a manual bolt-action type chambering mechanism.

[0004] U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,702, incorporated herein by reference, discloses a semi-automatic firearm. The firearm includes a stock mounted on a receiver, the receiver having a cartridge magazine mounted therein. A barrel is operatively connected to the receiver and has a hand grip mounted thereupon for isolating the hand of the shooter from direct contact with the barrel. The receiver embodies a firing mechanism, including a bolt assembly, and a trigger mechanism. The receiver is composed of a lower receiver, which houses the lock work of the rifle, and is interconnected with an upper receiver, which provides a longitudinal cavity or chamber for reciprocating movement of the bolt assembly. The bolt assembly is of the blow back type.

[0005] U.S. Pat. No. 4,658,702, incorporated herein by reference, discloses a repeating gun having a chambering mechanism which uses an axially displaceable arrangement which is connected to a movable breech mechanism. The chambering mechanism is operated by sliding the axially displaceable arrangement to operated the bolt action.

[0006] An exemplary firearm of the prior art is shown in FIG. 1. The firearm comprises an upper receiver 20 and a lower receiver 10. A stock 11 is connected to the lower receiver 10. Inside the stock 11, there is a spring action 12. The lower receiver 10 also comprises a trigger 13 and a grip 14. A magazine 15 for holding several cartridges is insertable into the lower receiver 10. A barrel 21 is connected to the upper receiver 20. A gas tube 22 extends substantially parallel to the barrel 21 from a port near the distal end of the barrel to the upper receiver 20. Hand guards 23 encase a portion of the barrel 21 and the gas tube 22. The upper receiver 20 also contains a bolt 7 and bolt carrier 8. A charging handle 30 is located in an upper portion of the upper receiver 20. The charging handle 30 moves the bolt 7 and the bolt carrier 8 longitudinally within the upper receiver 20 against the force of the spring action 12.

[0007] The rifle shown in FIG. 1 operates by placing several cartridges in the magazine 15 and inserting the magazine 15 into the lower receiver 10. The charging handle 30 is then pulled back to move the bolt 7 and bolt carrier 8 backward against the force of the spring action 12. The charging handle 30 is then released to allow the spring action 12 to drive the bolt 7 and bolt carrier 8 forward. As the bolt 7 and bolt carrier 8 move forward, a cartridge is pulled from the magazine 15 and chambered in the breach of the barrel 21. The rifle is now ready to fire. The rifle is fired by pulling the trigger 13 which activates a firing pin (see FIG. 7) within the bolt 7 to fire the cartridge. The shell from the cartridge is then accelerated down the length of the barrel 21 by exploding gases from the cartridge. As the bullet passes the end of the gas tube 22, exploding gases are communicated through the gas tube 22 back to the upper receiver 20. In the upper receiver, the exploding gases drive the bolt 7 and bolt carrier 8 backward against the force of the spring action 12. As the bolt 7 and bolt carrier 8 slide backward, the spent casing is extracted from the breach of the barrel 21 and is ejected from the upper receiver 20. The spring action 12 then drives the bolt 7 and bolt carrier 8 forward which again pulls a new cartridge from the magazine 15 and chambers the new cartridge in the breach of the barrel 21.

[0008] Referring to FIGS. 2A and 2B, side and end views of the upper receiver 20 of the prior art firearm are shown. The upper receiver has a longitudinal carriage chamber 25 which is a cylindrical hollow portion extending through the entire length of the upper receiver 20. The upper receiver 20 also has a charging slot in a top portion of the upper receiver 20. On each side of the charging slot 26, the upper receiver 20 has a slot sidewall 27. A slot top encloses the top of the charging slot 26, but the bottom of the charging slot 26 is open to the carriage chamber 25. At the back end of the upper receiver 20, the slot side walls 27 are cutaway 29 to allow the handles 33 of the charging handle 30 to extend therefrom as described below.

[0009] Side and end views of the charging handle 30 of the prior art rifle are shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B, respectively. The charging handle 30 has a shank 31 which has a hook 32 at one end and a handle 33 at the other end. The handle 33 extends perpendicular from the shank 31 in opposite directions. The charging handle 30 is mateable with the upper receiver 20, wherein the shank 31 of the charging handle 30 is inserted into the charging slot 26 of the upper receiver 20. The charging handle 30 is inserted all the way into the charging slot 26 until the handle 33 of the charging handle 30 slides into the cutaways 29 of the upper receiver 20. In this position, the hook 32 of the charging handle 30 is very nearly at the front of the upper receiver 20.

[0010] Referring again to FIG. 1, it is to be noted that during operation, the rifleman will position his face immediately behind the handle 33 of charging handle 30 so as to look down the forward and rear sites 4 and 5. With his face immediately behind the charging handle 30, it is impossible for the rifleman to chamber the first round by pulling the charging handle 30 backward. The rifleman must remove his face from the rifle before the charging handle 30 can be operated. This is particularly disadvantageous where it is necessary to maintain visual alignment of the rifle with an intended target.

[0011] Further, riflemen desire rifles which are: (1) extremely accurate, (2) rapidly operable, and (3) operable without requiring the rifleman to remove his eyes from the target. Therefore, there is a need for a rifle chambering mechanism which provides this combination of features.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0012] The present invention is a rifle bolt action configuration that enables a rifleman to rapidly eject a spent casing and chamber a new cartridge without removing the rifle from the position which the rifleman normally assumes when firing the rifle. Since the chambering mechanism of the present invention is manually operated, the accuracy of the rifle is not disrupted by the chambering mechanism.

[0013] According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a rifle cartridge chambering mechanism, the mechanism comprising: a bolt which secures a cartridge in a breach of the rifle; a bolt carriage in mechanical communication with the bolt, wherein the bolt carriage translates the bolt between locked-closed and unlocked-open positions relative to the breach, wherein a spent casing is extracted from the breach only by manual operation of the bolt carriage; and a charging action which biases the bolt toward the locked-closed position.

[0014] According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a rifle with a cartridge chambering mechanism, the rifle comprising: a rifle barrel with a breach and a muzzle; a receiver, wherein a stock, magazine, grip and trigger are in mechanical communication with a lower portion of the receiver, wherein an upper portion of the receiver is in mechanical communication with the rifle barrel and the upper portion of the receiver comprises a carriage chamber; a bolt which secures a cartridge from the magazine in a breach of the rifle barrel, wherein the bolt is positioned within the carriage chamber; a bolt carriage in mechanical communication with the bolt, wherein the bolt carriage is positioned within the carriage chamber, wherein the bolt carriage translates the bolt between locked-closed and unlocked-open positions relative to the breach, wherein a spent casing is extracted from the breach only by manual operation of the bolt carriage; and a charging action positioned within the stock which biases the bolt toward the locked-closed position.

[0015] According to still another aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for reloading a rifle, the method comprising: gripping the rifle in a firing position with the rifleman's head immediately proximate a stock of the rifle; manually sliding a bolt carrier away from the breach against a biasing force imposed by a charging action; and releasing the bolt carrier, whereby energy stored in the charging action drives the bolt carrier toward the breach, wherein the manually sliding and the releasing are performed without removing the rifle from the firing position or removing the rifleman's head from its position proximate the stock.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] The present invention is better understood by reading the following description of non-limitative embodiments with reference to the attached drawings wherein like parts in each of the several figures are identified by the same reference characters, and which are briefly described as follows.

[0017]FIG. 1 is a side view of a firearm of the prior art.

[0018]FIG. 2A is a side view of an upper receiver from the rifle of the prior art shown in FIG. 1.

[0019]FIG. 2B is an end view of the upper receiver shown in FIG. 2A.

[0020]FIG. 3A is a side view of an charging handle from the rifle of the prior art shown in FIG. 1.

[0021]FIG. 3B is an end view of the charging handle shown in FIG. 3A.

[0022]FIG. 4A is a side view of an upper receiver from the rifle of the present invention.

[0023]FIG. 4B is an end view of the upper receiver shown in FIG. 4A.

[0024]FIG. 5A is a side view of a charging handle from the rifle of the present invention.

[0025]FIG. 5B is an end view of the charging handle shown in FIG. 5A.

[0026]FIG. 6 is a side view of a rifle of the present invention using the upper receiver and charging handle shown in FIGS. 4A through 5B.

[0027]FIG. 7 is an exploded view of a bolt carrier group of the present invention.

[0028]FIG. 8 is an exploded view of a bolt carrier group of the present invention.

[0029]FIG. 9A is a side view of a charging handle from the rifle of the present invention.

[0030]FIG. 9B is an end view of the charging handle shown in FIG. 9A.

[0031]FIG. 9C is a perspective view of the charging handle shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B.

[0032] It is to be noted, however, that the appended drawings illustrate only typical embodiments of this invention and are therefore not to be considered limiting of its scope, as the invention may admit to other equally effective embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0033] Referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B, side and ends views of an upper receiver 20 of the present invention are shown. Similar to that of the prior art, the upper receiver 20 comprises a carriage chamber 25 which extends the entire length of the upper receiver 20. The upper receiver 20 also comprises a charging slot 26 defined by slot sidewalls 27 and slot top 28. The charging slot 26 is open at the bottom to the carriage chamber 25. In this embodiment of the invention, the slot sidewall 27 on the right side of the upper receiver 20 extends the entire length of the upper receiver 20. On the left side of the upper receiver 20, the slot sidewall 27 extends for only a portion of the front of the upper receiver 20. The cutaway 29 extends on the left side of the upper receiver 20 from the back all the way up to the slot sidewall 27.

[0034] Referring to FIGS. 5A and 5B, side and end views of the charging handle 30 of the present invention are shown. The charging handle has a shank 31 with a hook 32 at one end and a handle 33 at the other. Compared to the charging handle of the prior art, there are two significant differences with the charging handle of the present invention. First, the shank 31 is significantly shorter. Second, the handle 33 extends only in one direction from the shank 31.

[0035] According to the present invention, the charging handle 30 mates with the upper receiver 20 wherein the shank 31 is positioned within the charging slot 26. The handle 33 extends out the left side of the upper receiver 20 through the cutaway 29. Since the shank 31 of the charging handle 30 is so short, the charging handle 30 slides quite nearly all the way to the front of the upper receiver 20 until the handle 33 contacts the left slot sidewall 27 of the upper receiver 20. Since the handle 33 of the charging handle 30 extends only out the left side of the upper receiver 20, there is no need for a cutaway 29 on the right side of the charging slot 26.

[0036] Referring to FIG. 6, a side view of a rifle of the present invention is shown. The rifle comprises an upper receiver 20 and a lower receiver 10. A magazine 15 is inserted into the lower receiver 10. The lower receiver 10 also comprises a trigger 13 and a grip 14. Attached to the back end of the lower receiver 10 there is a stock 11 which comprises a chambering action 12. Depending on the embodiment of the invention, the chambering action 12 is a spring, a gas compression chamber or any other energy storage device known to those of skill in the art Connected to the front end of the upper receiver 20 there is a barrel 21 which is surrounded by hand guards 23. A forward site 4 is attached to the front or muzzle end of the barrel 21. A rear site 5 is mounted to the top of the upper receiver 20. The upper receiver has a cutaway 29 on its left side which extends more than half the way from the back of the upper receiver 20 toward the front. A handle 33 of the charging handle 30 is shown extending from the cutaway 29 in the upper receiver 20. It is important to note that the rifle of the present invention does not comprise a gas tube 22 as is known in the prior art (see FIG. 1).

[0037] Referring to FIG. 7, an exploded view of a bolt carrier group of the present invention is shown. The bolt 7 fits into a hole in the end of the bolt carrier 8 and the bolt cam 9 is inserted through an angled slot in the top of the bolt carrier 8 and into the bolt 7. The firing pin 6 is inserted though the center of the bolt 7. The charging handle 30 rests on top of the bolt carrier 8 and engages the bolt carrier 8 with the hook 32. This embodiment is advantageous in that it may be retrofitted to include the gas tube 22 for blowback-type, semi-automatic operation should that be desirable.

[0038] Referring to FIG. 8, an exploded view of a bolt carrier group of the present invention is shown. The bolt 7 fits into a hole in the end of the bolt carrier 8 and the bolt cam 9 is inserted through an angled slot in the top of the bolt carrier 8 and into the bolt 7. The firing pin 6 is inserted though the center of the bolt 7. The charging handle 30 rests on top of the bolt carrier 8 and is attached directly to the bolt carrier by screws 35 which are inserted through the holes 34.

[0039] Referring to FIGS. 9A through 9C, side, end and perspective views are shown of the charging handle 30 shown in FIG. 8. The charging handle 30 has a handle 33 and two holes 34 in the top for mounting to the bolt carriage. This embodiment of the invention differs from that previously described in that it can not be retrofit for blowback-type, semi-automatic operation.

[0040] A rifle of the present invention is operated by inserting a magazine 15 full of cartridges into the lower receiver 10. The rifleman grips the grip 14 with his right hand and loosely positions his right index finger about the trigger 13. The stock 11 is placed against the rifleman's right shoulder and the rifleman acquires an intended target by placing his right eye behind the rear site 5. With the rifleman engaging the rifle in this firing position, the rifleman uses his left hand to engage the handle 33 of the charging handle 30. Without removing his head from immediately behind the rear site 5, the rifleman pulls the charging handle 30 in a backward direction against the force of the chambering action 12. When the chambering action 12 is fully compressed and the charging handle 33 will no longer move in a backward direction, the rifleman simply lets go of the charging handle 33. The charging action 12 then drives the charging handle 30, bolt carriage and bolt in a forward direction. This movement of the bolt serves to pull a cartridge from the magazine 15 and chamber it in the breach of the barrel 21. The rifle is now ready to fire. When the rifleman is ready, he simply pulls the trigger 13 to fire the weapon. Since the rifle of the present invention does not comprise a gas tube, the exploding gases of the cartridge do not serve to cycle the chambering mechanism. In particular, upon firing the weapon, the bolt and bolt carriage do not move within the upper receiver 20. When the rifleman is ready to chamber a new cartridge, and without removing his head from immediately behind the rear site 5, the rifleman uses his left hand to pull the charging handle 33 backward against the force of the charging action 12. The charging action 12 drives the charging handle 30, bolt carriage and bolt in a forward direction to chamber a cartridge as described above. The bolt and bolt carrier operate in the present invention as they do in rifles of the prior art. For example, the bolt locks into firing position by being rotated by a bolt cam which slides within an angled slot in the bolt carriage, as is known in the art.

[0041] While the particular embodiments for self-locking firearm bolt action as herein shown and disclosed in detail are fully capable of obtaining the objects and advantages hereinbefore stated, it is to be understood that they are merely illustrative of the preferred embodiments of the invention and that no limitations are intended by the details of construction or design herein shown other than as described in the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A rifle cartridge chambering mechanism, said mechanism comprising: a bolt which secures a cartridge in a breach of the rifle; a bolt carriage in mechanical communication with said bolt, wherein said bolt carriage translates said bolt between locked-closed and unlocked-open positions relative to the breach, wherein a spent casing is extracted from the breach only by manual operation of said bolt carriage; and a charging action which biases said bolt toward the locked-closed position.
 2. A rifle cartridge chambering mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein said bolt rotates within said bolt carriage and along a path controlled by a bolt cam, wherein the bolt cam extends between said bolt and said bolt carriage.
 3. A rifle cartridge chambering mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein said charging action comprises a spring.
 4. A rifle cartridge chambering mechanism as claimed in claim 1, wherein said charging action comprises a gas-filled chamber.
 5. A rifle cartridge chambering mechanism as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: a receiver having a carriage chamber, wherein said bolt and said bolt carriage are positioned within the carriage chamber.
 6. A rifle cartridge chambering mechanism as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: a charging handle in mechanical communication with said bolt carriage.
 7. A rifle cartridge chambering mechanism as claimed in claim 5, further comprising: a charging handle in mechanical communication with said bolt carriage, wherein said charging handle protrudes from a forward portion of said receiver.
 8. A rifle with a cartridge chambering mechanism, said rifle comprising: a rifle barrel with a breach and a muzzle; a receiver, wherein a stock, magazine, grip and trigger are in mechanical communication with a lower portion of said receiver, wherein an upper portion of said receiver is in mechanical communication with said rifle barrel and the upper portion of said receiver comprises a carriage chamber; a bolt which secures a cartridge from the magazine in a breach of said rifle barrel, wherein said bolt is positioned within the carriage chamber; a bolt carriage in mechanical communication with said bolt, wherein said bolt carriage is positioned within the carriage chamber, wherein said bolt carriage translates said bolt between locked-closed and unlocked-open positions relative to the breach, wherein a spent casing is extracted from the breach only by manual operation of said bolt carriage; and a charging action positioned within the stock which biases said bolt toward the locked-closed position.
 8. A rifle as claimed in claim 7, further comprising a charging handle in mechanical communication with said bolt carriage.
 9. A rifle as claimed in claim 8, wherein said receiver is more than twice as long as said charging handle.
 10. A rifle as claimed in claim 8, wherein said charging handle comprises a handle which extends only from one side of a forward portion of said receiver.
 11. A method for reloading a rifle, said method comprising: gripping the rifle in a firing position with the rifleman's head immediately proximate a stock of the rifle; manually sliding a bolt carrier away from the breach against a biasing force imposed by a charging action; and releasing the bolt carrier, whereby energy stored in the charging action drives the bolt carrier toward the breach, wherein said manually sliding and said releasing are performed without removing the rifle from the firing position or removing the rifleman's head from its position proximate the stock.
 12. A method as claimed in claim 11, wherein said gripping comprises: pressing the stock against the rifleman's shoulder, griping a grip of the rifle with a first hand of the rifleman, and positioning the rifleman's head in line with sites of the rifle.
 13. A method as claimed in claim 11, wherein said manually sliding a bolt carrier comprises engaging a portion of the bolt carrier with a hand of the rifleman and pulling the bolt carrier.
 14. A method as claimed in claim 11, wherein said manually sliding a bolt carrier comprises engaging a charging handle with a hand of the rifleman and pulling the charging handle, wherein the charging handle is in mechanical communication with the bolt carrier.
 15. A method as claimed in claim 14, wherein said releasing the bolt carrier comprises releasing the charging handle with the hand of the rifleman, whereby energy stored in the charging action drives the charging handle and bolt carrier toward the breach. 